Social Intents
Social Intents
AI Action · NEW

Escalation Routing

Automatically route live chat conversations to the right team or channel. Your AI chatbot detects when a visitor needs human help and seamlessly transfers the chat to Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Chat, Zoom, or Webex. No manual intervention needed.

Chat with us
I have a billing issue with my account
I understand you need help with billing. Let me connect you with our finance team who can help.
✅ You’ve been connected to #billing-support. An agent will be with you shortly.

The AI detects billing intent and routes the chat to the #billing-support channel in Slack.

What Is Escalation Routing?

Escalation Routing is an AI Action that gives your chatbot the ability to transfer live chat conversations to a specific channel or space within your team’s messaging platform. Instead of all escalated chats landing in a single default channel, you can create smart routing rules that direct conversations to the exact team that can help.

The AI chatbot analyzes conversation context in real time. When it detects that a visitor needs human assistance, or that the topic matches a specific department, it triggers the routing action. The visitor is either automatically transferred or shown a confirmation button, depending on your configuration.

This works across every platform Social Intents supports: Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Chat, Zoom, and Webex. You select the target channel or space directly from a dropdown of available channels.

Key Capabilities

AI-Driven Detection

The chatbot uses conversation context to decide when to escalate. No manual triggers needed. It recognizes frustration, complex questions, or specific topics automatically.

Targeted Channel Routing

Route to any specific channel or space within your platform. Sales inquiries go to #sales, billing issues to #billing, technical questions to #engineering.

Optional Visitor Confirmation

Choose whether to auto-route immediately or show a confirmation button. Give visitors control over when they’re transferred, or minimize friction with instant routing.

Agent Context & Instructions

Pass routing instructions to the receiving team. Agents see a context message explaining why the chat was escalated, so they can jump in without asking the visitor to repeat themselves.

Multi-Platform Support

Works everywhere: Microsoft Teams channels, Slack channels, Google Chat spaces, Zoom channels, and Webex spaces. Select from a dropdown of your connected channels.

Multiple Routing Rules

Create as many escalation routing actions as you need. Each one targets a different channel with its own trigger conditions, so the AI picks the right destination for every scenario.

How It Works

1. Visitor chats

Visitor asks a question on your website chat widget

2. AI detects intent

Chatbot recognizes the visitor needs human help or a specific team

3. Chat is routed

Conversation is transferred to the target channel (auto or after confirmation)

4. Agent picks up

The right team sees the chat with context and responds immediately

Step-by-Step Setup

1

Create a new Custom Action

Go to Settings → AI Custom Actions in your Social Intents dashboard. Click "Add Action" to create a new action.

2

Select "Escalate Chat to Human" as the Action Type

From the Action Type dropdown, select "Escalate Chat to Human". This unlocks the escalation routing configuration fields.

3

Configure the action fields

Fill in the following fields to define the routing behavior:

Field Description Example
Action Name A unique identifier for this action. The AI uses this name when deciding which action to trigger. routeToBilling
Description Tell the AI when to trigger this action. Be specific about the scenario so the AI can match visitor intent accurately. Route to billing team when visitor has payment, invoice, or subscription questions
Target Channel / Space The platform channel or space to route the chat to. Select from a dropdown of available channels, or enter a channel ID manually. #billing-support
Routing Instructions Optional context message sent alongside the routed chat. Agents in the target channel see this to understand why the chat was escalated. Visitor has a billing dispute about their last invoice
Triggered Response The message shown to the visitor when the routing action fires. Use this to set expectations. Connecting you with our billing team now...
Button Label When confirmation is enabled, this is the text on the button the visitor clicks. Defaults to "Connect me to a specialist" if left blank. Talk to billing team
Require Confirmation When checked, the visitor sees a confirmation button before the chat is routed. When unchecked, routing happens automatically and immediately. ☑ checked
Trigger Once If enabled, the action fires only once per conversation. Prevents redundant routing if the visitor asks a similar question again. ☑ checked
4

Save and test

Click Save. Open your website and start a chat conversation that matches the action’s description. The AI should detect the intent and route the chat to the target channel. Verify the agent in the target channel receives the conversation with the routing instructions.

Auto-Route vs. Confirmation Mode

Auto-Route (Instant)

The chat is transferred immediately when the AI detects the escalation trigger. No visitor interaction needed.

Best for:

  • Urgent support scenarios
  • VIP or high-intent visitors
  • When speed matters most
  • Simple routing rules

Uncheck "Require visitor confirmation" to enable this mode.

Confirmation Button

The visitor sees a clickable button and can choose when to be transferred. Routing only happens after they click.

Best for:

  • Giving visitors control
  • When AI might route too early
  • Complex multi-topic conversations
  • Compliance or consent requirements

Check "Require visitor confirmation" and set a custom Button Label.

Example Use Cases
1

Department-Based Routing

Create multiple routing actions for different departments. Each action targets a different channel and has its own trigger description.

Action 1:
Name: routeToSales
Description: Route when visitor asks about pricing, demos, or buying
Target: #sales-team
Action 2:
Name: routeToSupport
Description: Route when visitor has a bug, error, or technical issue
Target: #tech-support
Action 3:
Name: routeToBilling
Description: Route when visitor has payment, invoice, or subscription issues
Target: #billing-support
2

VIP & Enterprise Escalation

Route enterprise or high-value prospects to a dedicated account team channel for white-glove treatment.

Name: routeToEnterprise
Description: Route when visitor mentions enterprise plans, large teams (50+ users), custom contracts, SOC2, or SSO requirements
Target: #enterprise-sales
Instructions: High-value enterprise lead. They may need custom pricing or security review.
Confirmation: Auto-route (unchecked)
3

Language or Region Routing

Direct conversations to language-specific or region-specific teams when the AI detects the visitor is communicating in a particular language or mentions a geographic region.

Name: routeToSpanishSupport
Description: Route when visitor writes in Spanish or asks for Spanish-speaking support
Target: #soporte-espanol
Triggered Response: Connecting you with our Spanish-speaking team / Conectándote con nuestro equipo de habla hispana...
4

Urgent Issue Escalation

Route urgent or critical issues to a dedicated on-call or priority support channel.

Name: routeToUrgent
Description: Route when visitor reports system outage, data loss, security incident, or uses words like "urgent" or "critical"
Target: #priority-support
Instructions: URGENT: Visitor reports a critical issue. Respond immediately.
Confirmation: Auto-route (unchecked) - speed is critical
5

Collect Info Then Route

Define input parameters on the action so the AI gathers visitor details (name, email, account number) before routing. The agent receives a fully informed handoff.

Name: routeToAccountTeam
Description: Route when visitor needs account-specific help. Collect their account ID and email first.
Parameters: email (string), accountId (string)
Target: #account-management
Instructions: Visitor email: {{email}}, Account: {{accountId}}

Supported Platforms

Microsoft Teams Teams Channels
Slack Slack Channels
Google Chat Google Chat Spaces
Zoom Zoom Channels
Webex Webex Spaces

The Target Channel dropdown automatically populates with channels and spaces from your connected platform. For Google Chat, mention @Live Chat in a Space to make it available.

Tips & Best Practices

Write specific action descriptions

The AI uses your description to decide when to trigger routing. Be descriptive: instead of "route to support", write "route when visitor reports a bug, error message, or broken feature." The more context, the better the AI’s accuracy.

Enable "Trigger Once" for routing actions

Unless you specifically want the action to fire multiple times per conversation, enable Trigger Once. This prevents the AI from trying to re-route a chat that’s already been transferred.

Use routing instructions to give agents context

Fill in the Routing Instructions field so agents don’t start cold. Include the reason for escalation, any collected data, or the visitor’s sentiment. Agents can then respond directly without asking visitors to repeat themselves.

Make sure the bot is in the target channel

For Slack, invite the Social Intents bot to the target channel. For Google Chat, mention @Live Chat in the Space. For Teams, the bot must be installed in the target channel. If the bot isn’t present, routing will fail silently.

Combine with other AI Actions

Escalation routing works alongside other AI Actions. For example, use a CRM action to capture the lead in HubSpot and an escalation routing action to transfer the chat to sales, both triggered in the same conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if no agent is available in the target channel?
The chat will still appear in the target channel and wait for an agent. If you have offline behavior configured (like an offline form or email capture), those rules still apply. The chat isn’t lost. It’s simply waiting in the right place for someone to respond.
Can I route chats between different platforms (e.g., from Slack to Teams)?
Routing targets channels within the same platform your widget is connected to. If your widget uses Slack, you route to Slack channels. If it uses Teams, you route to Teams channels. Cross-platform routing is not currently supported.
Can the visitor’s chat history follow them to the new channel?
Yes. The entire conversation is transferred to the target channel. Agents can see everything the visitor said before the escalation, plus the routing instructions you configured. The visitor doesn’t need to repeat anything.
How is this different from the default escalation behavior?
The default escalation sends the chat to whatever default channel your widget is configured for. Escalation Routing lets you choose a specific channel based on the conversation topic. Instead of all chats going to #general, billing goes to #billing, sales goes to #sales, etc.
How many escalation routing actions can I create?
There’s no hard limit. Create as many routing actions as you need. Create one for each department, topic, language, or priority level. The AI evaluates all available actions for each conversation and triggers the most relevant one.

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Route Chats to the Right Team, Automatically

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